The present invention relates to communications access networks, and in particular to Voice-over Digital Subscriber Line customer premises equipment and services provision.
Reference is made to applicants co-pending applications of the same date and titled xe2x80x9cEnhanced VoDSL Service Provisionxe2x80x9d (our reference 10850ID: Czajkowski) and xe2x80x9cEnhanced Performance VoDSLxe2x80x9d (our reference 10880ID: Czajkowski). The contents of these applications are intended to be incorporated herein.
Telephone access networks have historically always been connection orientated, typically using dedicated copper wire circuits between subscribers and the exchange or central office. Typically these access networks were designed to carry only voice with a bandwidth of less than 4 kHz. However in recent years with the growth of the internet and demand for other multi-media services such as video-on-demand and video conferencing, subscribers of telephone companies have demanded additional bandwidth over the access network to provide adequate Internet and multi-media services access.
The Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) protocol was developed as an access network architecture for delivering all types of services including voice, data and video for example. Although ISDN provides a single access technology, it is limited by offering only xe2x80x9cnarrow bandxe2x80x9d communications speeds and relatively high pricing for terminal equipment and network access. This, together with the lack of xe2x80x9cimaginativexe2x80x9d residential services that could capitalize on the underlying bandwidth capacity, has seen the technology being confined to larger business customers.
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modem technology has enabled the transmission of digital information at duplex rates from 144 Kbits/s to over 1 Mbits/s over the local subscriber loop consisting of unshielded twisted pair cable. Reference is made to IEE Electronics Communication Engineering Journal, Vol.11, No. 3, Page 125 (June 1999) for additional background on DSL technology. The demand for additional telephone lines and integrated telephony and data services has given rise to voice-over DSL (VoDSL) solutions, which use modem technologies to deliver services in-band over a single physical line. For example, a VoDSL offering may provide a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) functionality with 4 POTS (Plain Old Telephony Service) ports, each with a unique telephone number, and an ethernet port for high speed data access to an Internet Service Provider (ISP). All the POTS (typically voice or fax conduits) lines are provided as digitally derived services. VoDSL is an emerging technology, and as such requires subscriber acceptance and take-up both for the future development of this technology and to repay access network operator investment in the VoDSL equipment.
It is an object of the present invention to provide improved VoDSL customer premises equipment functionality.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide the subscriber of VoDSL access networks with improved services capability.
In a first aspect the present invention provides Digital Access Systems (DAS) Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) comprising: an internal packet switched network comprising a switch; a DAS modem connected to said internal network and arranged such that in use the internal network is coupled to an external packet switched network by a DAS link over an access network; a network-telephony interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a customer premises telephony appliance; a network-data interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a customer premises data appliance; a controller arranged to control said switch in order to establish packet transfer paths between said modem and said interfaces to complete calls between said appliances and entities on the external network; and means for transferring control and information signals between said controller and a computing function in order to adapt the controller to provide alternative packet transfer paths dependent on predetermined conditions in order to provide one or more additional CPE services.
Preferably said DAS is Voice over Digital Subscriber Line (DSL).
Preferably wherein said means comprises an application programmers interface enabling function corresponding to an application programmers interface enabling function in said computer function which together form an application programmers interface (API) between said means and said computer function over which said signals are transferred.
Preferably wherein said CPE comprises said computing function.
Alternatively wherein said computing function is external to said CPE.
Preferably wherein said computing function is associated with a Personal Computer connected to said network-data interface.
Preferably said API is formed across said interface.
Preferably said switch is a multicasting switch.
Preferably said internal network is an ATM network.
Preferably said telephony appliance comprises a telephone or a fax.
Preferably said data appliance comprises a Personal Computer.
Preferably said controller is a control processor
In a second aspect the present invention comprises a system comprising a DAS CPE, a customer premises data appliance connected to said CPE, a customer premises telephony appliance connected to said CPE, wherein said CPE is connected in use to an access network, and wherein said CPE comprises: an internal packet switched network comprising a switch; a DAS modem connected to said internal network and arranged such that in use the internal network is coupled to an external packet switched network by a DAS link over said access network; a network-telephony interface connected to said internal network and coupled to said customer premises telephony appliance; a network-data interface connected to said internal network and coupled to said customer premises data appliance; a controller arranged to control said switch in order to establish packet transfer paths between said modem and said interfaces to complete calls between said appliances and entities on the external network; and means for transferring control and information signals between said controller and a computing function in order to adapt the controller to provide alternative packet transfer paths dependent on predetermined conditions in order to provide one or more additional CPE services.
Preferably said DAS is VoDSL.
In a third aspect the present invention provides a method of operating a VoDSL CPE to provide a re-routing of incoming calls service, said CPE comprising: an internal packet switched network comprising a switch; a DSL modem connected to said internal network and arranged such that in use the internal network is coupled to an external packet switched network by a DSL link over an access network; two or more network-telephony interfaces connected to said internal network and coupled to a first and second customer premises telephony appliance respectively; a network-data interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a customer premises data appliance; a controller arranged to control said switch in order to establish packet transfer paths between said modem and said interfaces to complete calls between said appliances and entities on the external network; said method comprising: receiving an incoming call for said first telephony appliance; determining whether said incoming call is to be re-routed to said second telephony appliance dependent on one or more pre-determined conditions; if said call is to be re-routed, adapting said controller to establish a packet transfer path for said call to said second network-telephony interface in order to re-route said call to said second telephony appliance.
Preferably pre-determined condition is a pre-determined time of day.
Alternatively or in addition said pre-determined condition is a pre-determined absence of the user of said first telephony appliance.
In a fourth aspect the present invention provides a method of operating a VoDSL CPE to provide a re-routing of incoming calls service, said CPE comprising: an internal packet switched network comprising a switch; a DSL modem connected to said internal network and arranged such that in use the internal network is coupled to an external packet switched network by a DSL link over an access network; two or more network-telephony interfaces connected to said internal network and coupled to a first and second customer premises telephony appliance respectively; a network-data interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a customer premises data appliance; a controller arranged to control said switch in order to establish packet transfer paths between said modem and said interfaces to complete calls between said appliances and entities on the external network; said method comprising: receiving an incoming call for said first telephony appliance; receiving incoming caller identity information from said call; determining whether said incoming call is to be re-routed to said second telephony appliance dependent on the identity of said caller; if said call is to be re-routed, adapting said controller to establish a packet transfer path for said call to said second network-telephony interface in order to re-route said call to said second telephony appliance.
Preferably said incoming caller identity information is a Calling Line Identifier (CLI)
In a fifth aspect the present invention provides a method of operating a VoDSL CPE to provide a call monitoring and logging service, said CPE comprising: an internal packet switched network comprising a switch; a DSL modem connected to said internal network and arranged such that in use the internal network is coupled to an external packet switched network by a DSL link over an access network; a network-telephony interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a first customer premises telephony appliance; a network-data interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a customer premises data appliance; a controller arranged to control said switch in order to establish packet transfer paths between said modem and said interfaces to complete calls between said appliances and entities on the external network; said method comprising: receiving an outgoing call from said telephony appliance; receiving called party identity information from said appliance; storing said called party information; determining when the called party answers the outgoing call; determining when the call is terminated; determining the length of said call; storing said call length with said called party information.
In a further aspect the present invention provides a method of operating a VoDSL CPE to provide a voice mail service, said CPE comprising: an internal packet switched network comprising a switch; a DSL modem connected to said internal network and arranged such that in use the internal network is coupled to an external packet switched network by a DSL link over an access network; a network-telephony interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a first customer premises telephony appliance; a network-data interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a customer premises data appliance; a controller arranged to control said switch in order to establish packet transfer paths between said modem and said interfaces to complete calls between said appliances and entities on the external network; said method comprising: receiving an incoming call for said telephony appliance; determining whether said incoming call is to be re-routed to said data appliance dependent on a pre-determined condition; if said call is to be re-routed, routing said call to said data appliance which is arranged to record said call.
Preferably said pre-determined condition is a pre-determined absence of the user of said telephony appliance or failure of said user to answer said call.
In a yet further aspect the present invention provides a method of operating a VoDSL CPE to provide a fax call to PC routing service, said CPE comprising:
an internal packet switched network comprising a switch;
a DSL modem connected to said internal network and arranged such that in use the internal network is coupled to an external packet switched network by a DSL link over an access network;
a network-telephony interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a first customer premises telephony appliance;
a network-data interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a customer premises data appliance;
a controller arranged to control said switch in order to establish packet transfer paths between said modem and said interfaces to complete calls between said appliances and entities on the external network;
said method comprising:
receiving an incoming call;
determining that said incoming call is intended to be received by a fax machine;
determining whether said incoming call is to be re-routed to said data appliance
dependent on a pre-determined condition;
if said call is to be re-routed, routing said call to said data appliance which is arranged to decode and record said fax call.
Preferably said pre-determined condition is unavailability of said fax machine.